1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, systems, and products for redundant storage of computer data.
2. Description of Related Art
Retrieving computer data from tape backup is an expensive process, often requiring human intervention. It is more efficient to retrieve computer data from a storage device available across a local network or a local data communication connection. A corporate desktop computer today may be provided with 80 or more gigabytes of hard disk space, much of which may be unused. On a local area network with a few dozen such machines there may be huge amounts of unused storage space from which data could be retrieved much more efficiently than from a tape drive, for example. In prior art, however, there is no efficient way to access such storage. Moreover, the storage space involved is unreliable. Individual users on desktop computers may reinstall an operating system without notice, install and remove disks, reformat a disk, and, of course, simply turn off the computer.